As I sat there quietly and listened to the sermon on self-discipline, I watched the woman in the beautiful turquoise shirt sitting two rows in front of me. And, oh, I loved those matching dangle earrings. They looked super cute with her short haircut. With each drink she took of that soda, I thought, I want that.

That’s when I imagined it … in SLOOOWWW MOOOOTION … jump the seats, in my gray-ruffled dress, tackle her and snatch that bottled beverage!

Crazy. I had gone mad. But, can I at least get points because I didn’t actually do it? Just a thought.

I was on day seven of soda detox and needless to say, it had been a deliriously rough week. I had cravings and horrible headaches. I was SO tired. I didn’t realize how addicted I was to that little drink.

A simple habit turned into an addiction.

And, that made me think, what else am I addicted to? What starts as a little thought and turns into a craving?

Perfect body. Better-shaped nose.

Purses, shoes, jewelry. What is your drug of choice?

Bigger house.

Promotion or better job.

More money.

God teaches us that these worldly things are just things. They don’t matter.

“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.” 1 John 2:16-17

If I’m even willing to have the thought of jumping over seats and tackling a woman in the middle of a great sermon to feed my soda addiction, what are we willing to do for these worldly things? Will we compromise our beliefs or integrity to get what we want?

What if we replaced our worldly toxins of greed and selfishness with Jesus?

Jesus says in John 4:14, “Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

What if we devoted more time to God’s Word so that we could strive to be more like Jesus?

As we’ve been reading through Proverbs this month (I hope you’ve joined us each day on Facebook and Twitter) – I’ve learned a valuable life lesson.

When we make God’s Word a priority, we crave less of the world. With each verse learned, we become a little more like Jesus.

Loving. {without judgment}

Forgiving.

Peaceful.

Content.

Giving selflessly.

Serving others.

“To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.” Revelation 21:6

{On a side note, I’m on week three without soda. I feel awesome, so much energy. And, I don’t even crave it now. It got easier!!}